"Having won the enthusiastic support of my party members, I was nominated by them as the new Leader at the recent UKIP Bournemouth conference.

Since that time, I have been in discussion with party officers about the role. It has become clear that I do not have the sufficient authority, nor the full support of all my MEP colleagues and party officers to implement changes I believe necessary and upon which I based my campaign.

For personal and professional reasons, therefore, I will not take the election process further.

I will continue to concentrate fully on my activities and responsibilities as an elected UKIP Member of the European Parliament for the SE UK Region.

She was the overwhelming favourite to take over from Farage, after initial front-runner Steven Woolfe was blocked from standing as a candidate after failing to submit his application on time.

James refused to take part in hustings in the run-up to the campaign, and instead ran her own events where she could speak to party members one-on-one without having to debate other leadership candidates.

Douglas Carswell, the party's sole member of parliament, posted the following tweet shortly after speculation began to break regarding James' departure on social media.

The news is a blow to UKIP, which only recently recovered after weeks of infighting, prompted by the party's decision to block Woolfe from standing.

James' resignation also means the party is now without a leader as it begins life in the post-referendum era of British politics. This is because James decided not to appoint a deputy when she was elected.